After Duncan Laurence won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the talk immediately turned towards the host city for next year’s contest. What we do know is that the contest will be held in the Netherlands, and there has been no shortage of potential bids, and from cities that fans may not have expected!
Next year’s contest will be co-organised by three Dutch EBU members (broadcasters), NPO, AVROTROS and NOS. They have now opened the bidding process, inviting Dutch cities and regions to apply as the Host City for the 2020 contest.
The selection process will consist of three phases. In the first half of June, all interested cities or regions will receive a document from the co-operative broadcasters with criteria they will need to meet to be able to host. This document will act as the foundation for the bid.
The cities or regions will have four weeks to create their ‘bid books’ which will have to be submitted in the first half of July. In mid-July, organisers will have the option to visit the cities and regions that have applied, and in consultation with the EBU, the host city will be decided on, and then announced.
The contest has been previously hosted in The Netherlands no less than 4 times, in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980. The first edition was held in Hilversum, the second in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, and the latter two editions took place in The Hague.